Sporting CP have tied highly rated winger Gelson Martins to a new five-and-a-half-year contract and exercised their option to purchase Sebastian Coates from Sunderland.
Gelson has reportedly attracted interest from Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona in the last year after coming through Sporting s ranks, having made his Primeira Liga debut in August 2015.
The 21-year-old s ability on the ball and pace have made him an eye-catching proposition, with Fernando Santos handing him a senior international debut in October.
And he now looks set to either remain at Sporting for several more years or, should he move, bring in a sizeable fee, with the club revealing his new contract contains a €60 million release clause, €15m more than in his previous deal.
AC Milan defender Philippe Mexes has rubbished speculation linking him with a summer move away from San Siro.
The Frenchman has a contract until June 2015 with the Rossoneri and having struggled for playing time this season, he was tipped to leave the club in search of first team football at the end of the current season.
However, Mexes has made it clear he has no intention to leave AC Milan before his contract expires and instead hopes to sign a new deal.
“I have one year left on my contract and I plan to respect it until the end,” the experienced defender said to Sky Sport Italia.
“I hope to sign an extension. I know I am 32 and I don t run after money. I earned this contract because I had been out of contract at Roma.”
Philippe Mexes j…
Best odds: 10/11
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Lazio and Fiorentina will both be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take each other on at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, after disappointing draws at the weekend. It will be the 16th round of the 2020-21 Serie A roller coaster.
Lazio
On Sunday, Simone Inzaghi s team couldn t do more than share the spoils with relegation threatened Genoa, as their early lead, courtesy of a 15th-minute penalty from Ciro Immobile, got cancelled out in the second half by Mattia Destro. In the round before that one, Lazio were defeated by league leaders AC Milan.
Lazio are currently on a run of form which cannot be described as good. From their last six outings in all competitions, they won only one, drew three times and lost twice.<…
Pep Guardiola hailed a mature performance from Manchester City as they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Julian Alvarez scored the only goal of a tight Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium in which the treble winners impressively stifled any threat from the visitors.
Newcastle had travelled in buoyant mood after their opening-day 5-1 defeat of Aston Villa last week, while City may have had reason to feel lethargic after their draining Super Cup outing against Sevilla in Athens on Wednesday.
Two wins out of two for
— Premier League (@premierleague)
Yet City played with a confidence and determination that overcame any fatigue and Guardiola, who made just two changes to his side and did not make any substitutio…
Pep Guardiola has the ability to coach anywhere in the world, according to former Barcelona star Ronaldinho, ahead of a scramble for the departing Bayern Munich head coach s services.
Bayern announced at the weekend that Guardiola will not extend his contract with the Bundesliga champions, with Manchester City, near neighbours United and Chelsea all thought to be chasing the Catalan s signature for next season.
After securing three league titles, two Copa del Rey crowns and two Champions Leagues with Barcelona, Guardiola has lifted back-to-back Bundesliga trophies, although he is yet to secure European silverware at the Allianz Arena.
Regardless of the 44-year-old s next destination, Ronaldinho who left Barca shortly after Guardiola s appointment in 2008 expects …
Bastian Schweinsteiger says Jose Mourinho was always asking about Bayern Munich at Manchester United, as speculation grows the Portuguese could take over the reins at the Bundesliga champions.
Bayern parted ways with coach Niko Kovac on Sunday after a 5-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt a day earlier left them fourth in the Bundesliga table.
Pressure had been growing on Kovac all season despite his leading Bayern to the Bundesliga title and a DFB-Pokal triumph in his first year in charge.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has been out of a coaching job since being sacked by United in December 2018, with the 56-year-old considered to be among the frontrunners to replace Kovac.
Schweinsteiger played for Bayern between 2002 and 2015 before moving to United, where he played…
Prediction: Argentina win
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While the Euros may be at the forefront of everyone s mind right now, there are just as many reasons to keep an eye out for the 2021 Copa America. It s been a fascinating tournament up to this point with plenty of storylines to speak of, and you could argue none are more intriguing than this semi-final right now. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, want to finally try and reach the top of the mountain again but they ll need to get past Colombia in order to get one step closer.
Argentina
This tournament is beginning to feel like the kind of story they ll write about for years with regards to Lionel Messi who we can t seem to stop talking about within the context of this team. Their 3-0 win over Ecuador rea…
Peru's football fortunes have rarely mirrored those of South American counterpart countries. They haven't qualified for the World Cup since 1982, and their U-20 youth squad has never gotten the nod for inclusion in that division's world championship. That could change with a strong performance in the CONMEBOL Youth Championship just underway in Argentina, though, and if they qualify they'll have goalkeeper Ángelo Campos to thank. For sure, Campos got himself into a sticky situation late in last night's match against Uruguay. His attempt to play a long pass by coming out of the box ended up giving Uruguayan striker Gonzalo Bueno an open shot on the goal; Campos busted ass to keep it from crossing the goal line, then laid out to stop the rebound strike and pres…